Dreamliner makes emergency landing in New Delhi

Passengers and crew members flying on board an Air India Dreamliner aircraft had a scare on Monday morning when their London-Delhi AI-116 flight made an emergency landing at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after some warning lights alerted the pilots of a possible brake failure.

Monday’s incident, which later turned out to be a false alert, was reported just a day after the windshield of another Dreamliner in Air India’s fleet developed cracks while landing at Melbourne airport.

There were 174 passengers and 10 crew members in the London-Delhi flight.

According to an Air India official, the plane — coming from London — had to land under emergency conditions after warning lights blipped in the cockpit panel, indicating problems with its brakes.

“The pilot of AI-116 from London to Delhi noticed the warning lights indicating a problem in the brakes of the aircraft before it was to land. The pilot informed the Air Traffic Controller in Delhi and requested for priority landing. The pilot suspected brake failure and it would have been a disaster had his fears come true,” said a senior Air India Official, requesting anonymity.

The plane, with emergency services on standby, touched down safely around 2.30am on runway 28.

“We were prepared for any eventuality with ambulances, fire tenders and quick reaction teams. The landing was smooth,” the official added.

The aircraft was thoroughly checked but no fault was found in the brake system, officials said, suspecting that there could have been some glitches in the electronic panel.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an enquiry and asked Air India to submit a detailed report on both (Delhi and Melbourne) incidents.

The civil aviation ministry, DGCA as well as Air India were in close touch with US aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

A Boeing team, stationed in India, was coordinating with the maintenance and engineering staff of Air India.